1. (n.) Anything, as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; anything taken by force from an enemy in war; spoil; booty; plunder.

2. (n.) That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be devoured; hence, a person given up as a victim.

3. (n.) The act of devouring other creatures; ravage.

4. (n.) To take booty; to gather spoil; to ravage; to take food by violence.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

BIRDS OF PREY

pra: They were undoubtedly the first birds noticed by the compilers of Biblical records. They were camp followers, swarmed over villages and perched on the walls of cities. They were offensive in manner and odor, and of a boldness unknown to us in birds. They flocked in untold numbers, there was small defense against them, and the largest and strongest not only carried away meat prepared for food and sacrifice, but also preyed upon the much-prized house pigeons, newly born of the smaller animals, and even at times attacked young children. See Genesis 15:11, "And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away." Because they were attracted from above the clouds by anything suitable for food, people recognized that these were birds of unusual vision. When Job wanted to tell how perfectly the path to the gold mine was concealed, he wrote, "That path no bird of prey knoweth" (Job 28:7). The inference is, that, if it were so perfectly concealed that it escaped the piercing eyes of these birds, it was not probable that man would find it. These birds were so strong, fierce and impudent that everyone feared them, and when the prophets gave warning that people would be left for birds of prey to ravage, they fully understood what was meant, and they were afraid (Isaiah 18:6). In His complaint against His heritage, Yahweh questions, "Is my heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey? are the birds of prey against her round about?" (Jeremiah 12:9). And when he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah painted a dreadful picture, but one no doubt often seen in that land of pillage and warfare: "Their dead bodies will I give to be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth" (Jeremiah 19:7).

Gene Stratton-Porter

PREY

pra (baz, Tereph, shalal): "Prey" is frequent in the Old Testament, chiefly as the translation of baz, "spoil," "plunder" (Numbers 14:3, 11Deuteronomy 1:39Isaiah 10:6, etc.); of Tereph, "prey of wild beasts," "torn thing" (Genesis 49:9Numbers 23:24Job 4:11, etc.); of malqoah, "a taking" (Numbers 31:11, etc.; Isaiah 49:24, 25); of shalal, "spoil" or "booty" (Judges 5:30 twice; Judges 8:24, 25Isaiah 10:2, etc.). Maher-shalal-chash-baz (the Revised Version margin "The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth") was the symbolical name given to a son of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:1, 3). "Prey" does not occur in the New Testament, but is found in the Apoc: 1 Esdras 8:77, "for our sins.... were given up.... for a prey" (pronome); Judith 9:4; 16:05; 1 Maccabees 7:47; Ecclesiasticus 27:10 (thera); Judith 5:24 (katabroma).

4812. sulagogeo -- to carry off as spoil... 4812 (from ,"a prey, victim" and 71 , "carry off") -- properly, to carry off like a predator with its prey; to spoil (used only in Col 2:8). ...//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4812.htm - 7k

The Prey of the Terrible... CHAPTER V The Prey of the Terrible. ... It is the will of the Terrible, who holds on to his prey, and would rather rend it limb from limb than ever let it go. .../.../wilson-carmichael/things as they are/chapter v the prey of.htm

Allow Me to Fall a Prey to the Wild Beasts.... Chapter IV."Allow me to fall a prey to the wild beasts. I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly .../.../ignatius/the epistle of ignatius to the romans/chapter iv allow me to fall.htm

Nahum's Doom of Nineveh... The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, And strangled for his lionesses; And filled his caves with prey, And his dens with ravin. 5. .../.../select masterpieces of biblical literature/xi nahums doom of nineveh.htm

Loot (15 Occurrences)... (See NIV). Ezekiel 7:21 I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it. .../l/loot.htm - 11k

Spoils (19 Occurrences)... them.' (See NIV). Numbers 31:11 And they took all the spoil, and all theprey, both of man and of beast. (See NIV). Numbers 31:12 .../s/spoils.htm - 12k

Plundered (44 Occurrences)... Numbers 31:32 Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, (See NAS). .../p/plundered.htm - 19k

Lioness (13 Occurrences)... From the prey, my son, you have gone up. ... He shall not lie down until he eat of theprey, and drinks the blood of the slain." (WEB JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV). .../l/lioness.htm - 10k

Whelp (4 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) One of the young of a dog or a beast ofprey; a puppy; a cub; as, a lion's whelps. 2. (n.) A child .../w/whelp.htm - 10k

Tearing (11 Occurrences)... And removed is a rock from its place? (YLT). Psalms 22:13 They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring. (WEB YLT NIV). .../t/tearing.htm - 9k

Concordance

Prey (105 Occurrences)

Acts 11:6When I had looked intently at it, I considered, and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky.(See RSV)

Colossians 2:8See that there be no one who shall lead you away as a prey through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the teaching of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.(DBY WBS RSV)

Genesis 15:11The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 34:29and all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, took they captive and made a prey, even all that was in the house.(ASV RSV)

Genesis 49:9Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 49:27"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey. At evening he will divide the spoil." (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 14:3Why does Yahweh bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: wouldn't it be better for us to return into Egypt?"(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Numbers 14:9Only don't rebel against Yahweh, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and Yahweh is with us. Don't fear them."(See NAS)

Numbers 14:31But your little ones, that you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have rejected.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Numbers 23:24Behold, the people rises up as a lioness, As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain."(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 31:9The children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their livestock, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.(WEB JPS ASV)

Numbers 31:11They took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of animal.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS)

Numbers 31:12They brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS)

Numbers 31:26"Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation;(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Numbers 31:27and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Numbers 31:32Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Deuteronomy 1:39Moreover your little ones, whom you said should be a prey, and your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Deuteronomy 2:35only the livestock we took for a prey to ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we had taken.(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Deuteronomy 3:7But all the livestock, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Deuteronomy 20:14but the women, and the little ones, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, even all its spoil, you shall take for a prey to yourself; and you shall eat the spoil of your enemies, which Yahweh your God has given you.(WEB JPS ASV)

Joshua 8:2And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Joshua 8:27Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took for prey to themselves, according to the word of Yahweh which he commanded Joshua.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Joshua 11:14And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Judges 5:30Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colors, a prey of divers colors of needlework, of divers colors of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?(KJV WBS)

Judges 8:24And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)(KJV WBS YLT)

Judges 8:25And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.(KJV WBS YLT)

1 Samuel 14:36And Saul saith, 'Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and we prey upon them till the light of the morning, and leave not a man of them.' And they say, 'All that is good in thine eyes do.' And the priest saith, 'Let us draw near hither unto God.'(YLT)

2 Kings 21:14I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies. They will become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

2 Chronicles 25:13And the sons of the troop that Amaziah hath sent back from going with him to battle -- they rush against cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-Horon, and smite of them three thousand, and seize much prey.(YLT)

2 Chronicles 28:14And the armed men leave the captives and the prey before the heads and all the assembly; (YLT)

Nehemiah 4:4Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:(KJV DBY WBS)

Esther 3:13And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Esther 8:11Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Esther 9:10the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the oppressor of the Jews, they slew; but they laid not their hands on the prey.(DBY YLT)

Esther 9:15For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.(KJV DBY WBS YLT)

Esther 9:16But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,(KJV DBY WBS YLT)

Psalms 111:5Prey He hath given to those fearing Him, He remembereth to the age His covenant.(YLT)

Psalms 124:6Blessed be Yahweh, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Proverbs 12:12The wicked desireth the net of evil men; But the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit .(See JPS)

Proverbs 12:27The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting; But the precious substance of men is to the diligent.(See JPS NAS RSV)

Proverbs 23:28She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.(KJV WBS YLT)

Isaiah 5:29Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 8:1And Jehovah said unto me, Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it with the pen of a man, For Maher-shalal-hash-baz; (See JPS YLT NAS)

Isaiah 10:2to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV NIV)

Isaiah 10:6I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Isaiah 18:6They shall be left together unto the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts of the earth; and the birds of prey shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 31:4For thus says Yahweh to me, "As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds is called together against him, will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them, so Yahweh of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its heights. Jeremiah(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 33:23Your rigging is untied. They couldn't strengthen the foot of their mast. They couldn't spread the sail. Then the prey of a great spoil was divided. The lame took the prey. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Isaiah 42:22But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become a prey, and no one delivers; and a spoil, and no one says,'Restore them!'(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Isaiah 46:11calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it. (See JPS DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 49:24Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Isaiah 49:25But thus says Yahweh, "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Isaiah 59:15Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 2:14Is Israel a servant? is he a native-born slave? why is he become a prey? (WEB JPS ASV YLT NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 12:9Is my heritage to me as a speckled bird of prey? are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the animals of the field, bring them to devour.(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 15:13Thy strength and thy treasures For a prey I do give -- not for price, Even for all thy sins, and in all thy borders.(YLT)

Jeremiah 17:3O My mountain in the field -- thy strength, All thy treasures -- for a prey I give, Thy high places for sin in all thy borders.(YLT)

Jeremiah 20:5Moreover I will give all the riches of this city, and all its gains, and all the precious things of it, yes, all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies; and they shall make them a prey, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.(WEB ASV DBY)

Jeremiah 21:9He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out, and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Jeremiah 30:16Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; and all your adversaries, everyone of them, shall go into captivity; and those who despoil you shall be a spoil, and all who prey on you will I give for a prey.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 38:2Thus says Yahweh, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Jeremiah 39:18For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but your life shall be for a prey to you; because you have put your trust in me, says Yahweh.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Jeremiah 45:5Do you seek great things for yourself? Don't seek them; for, behold, I will bring evil on all flesh, says Yahweh; but your life will I give to you for a prey in all places where you go.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Jeremiah 50:10Chaldea shall be a prey: all who prey on her shall be satisfied, says Yahweh.(WEB ASV)

Ezekiel 7:21I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Ezekiel 13:21And I have torn your kerchiefs, And delivered My people out of your hand, And they are no more in your hand for a prey, And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah.(YLT RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 19:3She brought up one of her cubs: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 19:6He went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in its midst, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in its midst.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 22:27Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 26:12They shall make a spoil of your riches, and make a prey of your merchandise; and they shall break down your walls, and destroy your pleasant houses; and they shall lay your stones and your timber and your dust in the midst of the waters.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 29:19Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Ezekiel 34:8As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and didn't feed my sheep;(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 34:22therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 34:28They shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the animals of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 36:4therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are all around;(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 36:5therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed my land to themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, with despite of soul, to cast it out for a prey.(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS YLT NAS)

Ezekiel 38:12to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Ezekiel 38:13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, shall tell you, Have you come to take the spoil? have you assembled your company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great spoil?(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Ezekiel 39:4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples that are with thee: I have given thee to be meat for the birds of prey of every wing, and to the beasts of the field.(DBY RSV)

Daniel 11:24In time of security shall he come even on the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yes, he shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time.(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Hosea 9:13I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place; but Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.(See RSV)

Amos 3:4Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Amos 3:5Doth a bird fall into a snare of the earth, And there is no gin for it? Doth a snare go up from the ground, And prey it captureth not?(YLT)

Nahum 2:11Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, the lion's cubs, and no one made them afraid?(See RSV)